Iranian authorities refuse to reveal the fate of five Ahwazi Arab prisoners

The Iranian authorities refused to reveal the fate of five Ahwazi prisoners after their relatives’ chase up into the Iranian intelligence service, “Etlaat” a few days ago, despite the passage of more than two years on the disappearance of some of them in Iranian prisons.

Reliable sources that wished to remain anonymous stated that the Bureau of Inquiries, “Setad Khabari” belong to the Iranian intelligence service located in the “Amaniyeh” district of western capital city of Ahwaz, refused to provide any information about five Ahwazi prisoners to reveal their fate after their relatives had been referred to the office during the past few days of writing this report.

The same sources confirmed that the period of disappearance of four prisoners exceeded the year, and there are fears among the prisoners’ families that mentioned prisoners have been subjected to physical liquidation, similar to the exposure of Ahwazi activists in the eighties of the last century after the outbreak of popular protests against the occupation at the time.

The sources said that among the prisoners who were forcibly disappeared was the Ahwazi child Hamza Asakereh( profile picture), 17 years old, from the Koura district of Ma’shour city south of Al-Ahwaz capital, where he was kidnapped by intelligence agents in February 2015 while he was on a street. His fate remains unknown.

The sources added that the preacher “Abdallah Abbas Kaabi Abu Seif ” and poet “Ahmed Ali Kaabi”, from the town of Shawour north of Ahwaz capital; also are among those who disappeared forcibly after being arrested by the Iranian intelligence on 21 October of 2015.

The sources added that the fate of the Ahwazi preacher “Baqir Nu’ami ” is still unknown, after being kidnapped by intelligence agents on 6th of March 2016 during the raid on his home in Ahwaz capital. There were reports of his physical liquidation shortly after his arrest, but the Iranian intelligence did not provide to his parents any information contribute to the disclosure of his fate until this moment.

The sources pointed out that the fate of the Ahwazi activist “Ali Hattab Sari,” is still unknown after being kidnapped by the Iranian intelligence service from his home in the “Althoura” neighbourhood in the west of Ahwaz capital, on March 15 this year.

According to local Ahwazi human rights activists that quoted to Centre that the Iranian authorities in recent years began to pursue a policy of enforced disappearance is widespread scale; where Ahwazi activists arrested in a manner similar to kidnapping, and then the security services and the judiciary agencies refuses to respond to the appeals of the kidnapped families, demanding disclosure of their beloved one’s fate.

It should be noted that the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 47/133 of 18th December 1992, adopted enforced disappearance as a crime prohibited by the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Under article 5 of this Declaration, the practice of enforced disappearance in its general or systematic form constitutes a crime against humanity and is punishable under international law by the penalties provided for in this regard.